The San Francisco 49ers travel to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this weekend, and then the schedule starts to get particularly difficult. After the Bucs, the 49ers travel to face Seattle, host Denver, Seattle, and Chicago, and then close the season with a road game against the Los Angeles Rams.
The 49ers are a 3.5-point road underdog to the Bucs after the lookahead line projected a five point spread. Sportsbooks offer lookahead lines to give people an idea of how a pair of teams are perceived. The official line will come out later this coming Sunday late afternoon, and this gives us something for comparison. Injuries and performance will dictate just how much it’s worth changing, and what sportsbooks think about the betting public.
The Westgate SuperBook releases lookahead lines each Tuesday, and yesterday they projected the 49ers as a 7.5 point road underdog to the Seahawks. The line could easily change if there are any notable injuries, but barring anything crazy, it will like be at least a touchdown spread.
The last time the 49ers were less than a touchdown underdog to the Seahawks was October 22, 2015. The 49ers were a 6.5-point home underdog and lost the game 20-3. The last time the 49ers were less than a touchdown underdog at Seattle was January 19, 2014, in the NFC title game.
I’m fascinated to see how the line reacts to Nick Mullens vs. the Bucs. If the 49ers beat the Bucs and get a strong showing from Mullens, I could see some money bringing the 7.5 down to a touchdown. I doubt it gets to 6.5 points, but we’ll see what Mullens magic brings.